Robinson uses early criticism as motivation
When Paul McDonough watched Robbie Robinson leading up to the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, he saw what he believed was the best talent in his draft class.
The Inter Miami CF chief operating officer and sporting director became fixated with the 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, whom he referred to as a “soccer junkie.”
But during a recent episode of “OnSide,” the club’s weekly show on its website, McDonough revealed that he played the “bad cop” role during interviews. He didn’t think Robinson spent enough time in the gym and even told him that he may not have the most prominent role on the team, with Robinson’s response impressing McDonough.
“I challenged Robbie,” McDonough recalled. “I told him, ‘Look, I don’t know if you’ll start for us.’ Robbie said, ‘Well, why are you going to draft me?’ I thought it was a good response.
“He believes in himself. That’s the one thing with Robbie — you watch him and he has an enormous amount of talent. I hope he learns the gym is an important place for him and I think he can have a
really good career.”
Robinson showed glimpses of the talent that captivated McDonough before Inter Miami’s inaugural season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a strong showing in the final preseason friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Robinson started the team’s first two games of the season — playing all 90 minutes in its MLS debut against Los Angeles FC on March 1, and recording three shots and assisting Rodolfo Pizarro on the club’s first goal while playing 44 minutes against D.C. United on March 7 — before exiting with an apparent knee injury.
Robinson recently told “Onside” that it felt as if the game slowed down for him.
“It had a lot to do with taking my experiences from the game in LA and transferring those over to the game in D.C.,” Robinson said. “It just felt a lot more fluid.”
The extra time off has allowed Robinson’s injury to heal, with him telling MLSsoccer.com that he would’ve missed a few weeks of action if games were being played.
Robinson has taken McDonough’s criticism to heart, using the postponement of the season to stay in shape with the training regimen given to him by the team and focusing on strengthening his upper body, which he admits he has wanted to improve for a while.
“[Coach] Diego [Alonso] is on me a lot,” Robinson said to MLSsoccer.com. “He wants me to make the right decision. He’s on me about my work rate, but I like that.
“When a coach wants you to get better, they’re harder on you. They want you to succeed and think you have that potential. I think he sees that in me and is pushing me really hard. I thrive under that.”